Lannathaijohn

Went a couple of weeks ago for my first 90day reporting at Promenada. Went late morning and was very pleasantly surprised by the nice air conditioned waiting area. The process took only 30minutes - so much better than at the old immigration office.

However, I do understand other matters such as extension of retirement stay do take much, much longer.

John

My son was born in Saudi Arabia and immediately became a UK citizen as he was born to a British father and a mother of Thai birth who had acquired UK citizenship due to marriage. My wife held both UK and Thai passports and also Thai ID until her death a few years ago.

Since then my son , at 29 years old, but with severe learning difficulties, was granted a Thai ID and passport on the basis of his having a Thai born mother. He did not have to relinquish his UK nationality during this process.

I was informed at both the Amphurs office and Immigration office that he had the right to hold both nationalities.

Under normal circumstances the answer to your question is no. The confusion lies in understanding what Dual Citizenship is and how it applies to a country you have your citizenship from. I think the best way to illustrate this is by example.

I am Canadian and one of my daughters was born in Poland. Canada accepts Dual Citizenship while at that time Poland did not. Since my daughter was born in Poland she was and is a Polish Citizen.

So even though Poland does not grant "Dual Citizenship" when I applied for citizenship to Canada for her (her second citizenship) she was granted citizenship and now also holds both a Polish and Canadian Passports.

Me on the other hand, if I wanted to do the same as my Daughter and hold 2 Citizenship's from Canada and Poland I could not. Since Poland does not accept Dual Citizenship and I am Canadian, I would first have to renounce my Canadian Citizenship before I could be granted a Polish one. Can you see the difference?

So if your son/daughter are Thai, and you are from the UK and want to give them Dual Citizenship with the UK, then no problem. If they have UK Citizenship and you want them to have Thai Citizenship then this as different and they would have to give up their UK Citizenship first.

Another aspect of the high prices is what you get for your money - all the SUV models made in Thailand I have come across do NOT include rear air bags, for example. These lower specifications make them even more expensive on a " like - for -like basis". I presently have a Mitsubishi Pajero ( 3 years old) but when I trade it in I am going to seriously look at imported models , despite the higher prices. Maybe run that car for 10 years or so.

Thanks to ukrules , gerry1011 and Ubonjoe for a clear update ,good information and insight

John

Reply to Nancyl

I am sure your first question will be answered by others

The second point is interesting. I am also on a extension to stay for retirement in Chiang Mai - I make the 90day reporting by mail and the annual extension by appointment at which time I also apply for a multiple exit visa - thus the overcrowding situation at the immigration office has a limited effect on me.

A lady friend has just applied for the Elite visa as she is not yet 50 - she has opted for this after spending 1 year on the Ed visa and is looking forward to the hassle free benefits- she will have to report every 90days( by mail) and if she does not exit in the next year then have an extension made in Bangkok ( Chiang Mai immig. Cannot do this). This is still much easier than the alternatives to her.

However , I am not applying as the baht 500,000 cost every 5 years is far higher than the extension of stay for retirement , even though you need baht 800,000 in a bank account.

John

The 3 developments by Quality Houses are very good Moo Bans. All 3 are on the Middle Ring Road - Laddarom and Elegance which are now completed and good for pre owned properties and the new development QH Elegance at the Mahidol road junction where detached properties are being released in phases.

All properties are over Baht 5M and even up to Baht20M, but offer good security, pools, greenery and space . Have lived in Laddarom since it was completed 10 years ago and now happily moved to the new QH development which is fantastic.